Reinforced leather.



Nm 891,454, PATBNTED JUNE 2,3, 1908.

Z. S. BLACKADAR. REINPORCED LEATHER.

APPLICATION PILEDAUG. 30. 1807;

@Hom/wg,

. To all whom it concern:

,' parts and pieces as arefp entrain straws,

casini emersione, es itfnrramnnassaonnsn'ris, AssIoNon or ONE-recarsi ro @Fhiiit ARTHUR CWFQL'SOM AND ONEFOURTE TO CHARLES O. EMERSON, BOTH OF BROCKTGN, Y

MASSACHUSETTS.

. no. senese.,

l Applicatcnliiled Si), 1957. Serial No. 390,842.-

` nnrnn'ononlo Litmanen.

"" f spesse-ation trattasse resent.

Patented .Tune Q3, 1908.

Beit known thatl, ZEBINA S.,l BLCKADAR, of Wh tain new and useiullm yroyements' inliciniorced Leather, of Whicli yspecication. 4- l y v .This inventionrelates toleather parte 'or pieces adapted `for use in making boot' and shoe uppers, and particularly to siich leather rovided With a glazed or enameledouter ace, such asv thatv `possessed. by ordinary so-'oalled patent or enameled leather. h. 1. y

it is a Well-'lmoyrniact that the` finished outer surface of patent leather is liable to -crack'aiterthe leather." is incorporated in a boot or shoe, the cracking being particularly noticeable in toe' caps and other parts which are subjected to a considerable deg-reeel tension. in the loperationV of lasting the upper. This crackingA is due to vinequalitiesv between the tensilestrength of the leather and of the ornamental coating or iinish, the latter being liable to crack when" ut under a tens' 'sion which stretches the leat 1er'.`

My inyention has for its object to render n per leather practically inextensible, so' tlat when lasted in .a boot or shoe, it will not stretch suiciently to cause the cracking otite finished outer surface.

To this end theinvention consists in'a reinforced sheet or piece of leather having a finished outer face and a Woven reinforcing layerintimately attached by a suitable adhesive" to the inner or flesh face ofthe leather iece, said reiniorcinglayer being thin and exible, and comprising metallic Warp and Weit strands, which render the reinforcing layer and the leather'piece towhich it is united, practically inextnsiblefthus obviating the annoyance, espense and loss in-vl volvo-d by the cracking of the finished sur face.

` @i the accompanying drawings, forming a.

5e sido view of a vampconstructed in accorditman, in the county of Plymouthand, State of' Massachusetts, have invented. eenv the following isa' I I' ance with the'invention, a ppdrtion ofthe ieatherA ieee being broken away .to show `the rein orcing layer- Fig. e. represents aview/ oi a'fragment of the reinforcing layer oma-n enlarged scale. i Fig' represents a magnified sectional view of a ralnent of the reinforcing layer, showing a mo cation..

` The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the gures. d In the drawings, c representsa sheet or piece of leather, suitable for use in a boot or shoe'ufpper, the said piece having a finished A outer ace 2, which may be provided by any of the wellfknown processes of producing so-called patent or enameled ieather, or the said iinished face may be ofany suitable character, Whether formed by the addition of a coating, which is adapted to be cured and made permanent by heat, as in the case of atent or enameled leather, or AWithout suc i coating. To the back or flesh side of y the. pie-ce a is intimately united a reinforcing layer b, Which is composedof interwoven 'Warp and weft threads or strands. V The said fabric comprises metallic Warp threads or strands 3 and metallic weit threads or strands 4. iinely drawn Wire of co per or, other suitable metaloralloyhavin su cienttensilestren th to collectively ren er the fabric racticaly inextensible in any direction. he .size of the Wire strands is such'that the fabric in Said metallic strands are made of very f which they are included, is so thin and'ilexible that it does not interfere materially with the lexib'ility of the piece a andV the operation ci conforming the same-to a last when the upper is being lasted. In practice the metal strands 3 and 4 are of about thesar'ne thickness as the strands .or threads employed in making ordinary bolting cloth. The reinforcing layer b is 'intimately united with the leather piece a by means of glue, paste, cement or other suitable adhesive, ap-

- lied to one or both ci the contacting suraces of the pieceo'ancl layer b, the contacting surface of the leather pieceo 'being the.

'inner or iiesh side.

, gage an a adapted to engage and adhere to the adhesive employed, said face being, in part at least, non-metallic; in other-words, I construct the reinforcing layer b so that while'it comprises a suitable number of metallic Warp and weft strands to insure practical non-eX- tensibility, the number of metal strands is not such as to reve'nt the firm adhesion of the reinforcing ayer throughout practically its entire area to the leather piece. I prefer to provide the reinforcing layer with an adhesive-engaeing surface by limiting the number of metallic Warp and weft strands so that each set 'of strands is separated by a space of considerable Width, the said spaces being filled with intermediate warp andweft strands of textile material, such as cotton or linen, the textile material employed being of such tensile strength that threads of which it is composed ma be made verythin and slender, and ractica y of the same thickness as the meta lic strands.

In Fig. 4 I show conventionally a fragment of tliefreinforcing layer, in which the relativelyheavy intersecting lines represent the metallic Warp and weft strands, while the intermediate lighter intersecting lines represent fine teXtl e warp and weft threads interwoven to lill the spaces between the metallic strands. The textile material thus interwoven, presents a surface adapted to en O'a e the adhesive 'eni )lo ed and insure a l y y firm and intimate union `between the reinforcing layer and the leather piece. The Woven fabric may, however, be composed entirely of the metallic strands 3 and 4, which Will be assembled more closely than the metallic strands shown in Fig. 4, the spaces or reticulations of the fabric being closed by av suitable filling composition 5 of such nature that it is adapted to form a tenacious body, in which the metallic vstrands are embedded, said body resenting a surface adapted to endphesive. The filling composition 5 may be composed of rubber vulcanized after its application to the Woven metallic fabric,

or it may be of an other suitable material or composition. I esire to emphasize the fact that the reinforcing layer must be so thin and flexible that it will not materially affect the pliability and conformability of the leather piece, so that the latter may be lasted with practically the same ease and facility as a leather piece which is not thus reinforced, the reinforcing layer at the same time reventing the stretching of thel leather p1ece and the consequent cracking ofits finished surface. v

The woven fabric of which the reinforcing piece is made, is characterized not only by non-extensibility, but also by imperviousness.

to the action of water. I am aware that it has been proposed to cement a layer of canvas or duck composed Wholly of textile threads, to a piece of upper leather. This material, however, is not inextensible, particularly when moistened, thel threads not being impervious to water. Moreover, any fabric composed Wholly of textile material must necessarily be made of threads which are relatively thick and bulky, and constitute a fabric whichimparts an undesirable increase to the thickness of the piece of which it forms a part, an objection which is entirely obvi-A ated by the employment of a fabric comprising metallic warp and weft threads.

The reinforcing layer b may be secured to the piecefaJ by means additional to the adhesive employed, such means being, for ex-v and the serious loss often occasioned by the necessity of entirely discarding a completed boot or shoe, owing to the cracking of the 'finished surface.

I desire it to be clearly understood that I do not limit myself to the em loyment of socalled patent or, enameled eather, but

may employ any Yleather having a finished outer surface in any way for use in a boot or shoe upper.

I claim:

1. A reinforced sheet or piece of leather having a finished outer face and a woven reinforcing layer intimately attached to its inner or flesh face, said layerbeing thin and flexible, and comprising metallic Warp and weft strands whereby the reinforcing layer and the leather piece are rendered inextensible.

2. A reinforced sheet or piece of leather having a finished outer face and a thin and flexible woven reinforcing layer, com rising metallic warp and weft strands where y the fabric of the reinforcing layer is rendered inextensible, said layer having a face adapted to engage an adhesive, and intimatel united b r said adhesive to the-back or iles side of t e leather piece. p

3. A reinforced sheet or piece of leather having a finished outer face and a thin and flexible woven reinforcing layer, comprising metallic warp and weft threads'wliich render the fabric of the layer inextcnsible, and textile warp and weft threads alternating with the metallic threads, and forming a surface adapted to engl-niv :in adhesiva, the said layer sible, thc. sind leather piece and reinforcing l being intimntcb unilerl by said adhesive to the back or ,llesh sill@ nl thv. lnatber piece. l

4. A rolnlmcenl sheet m pieno nl leather having linlshml outer 'luce unil u wu'ven l reinforcing layer intimately attached to its i inner or llesh lace, Suid layer boing thin and 1 la;v er bulng mhlilionally united by marginal sting-hns, i

1n Leslnnony whereof I have a'l'lixed my slgnzrtlura., .ln presence of two Witnesses.

ZTCBNA S.` BLACKADAR.

l/Vitnesses 1 C. E, BROWN, ARTHUR H. BROWN.

flexible, and comprising metallic vwarp and weft strands whereby Uhn rem'lorclng layer 10 and the, leather pro-30, are rendered moxtrfn 

